Unnaipol Oruvan - Review

A focused thriller on the travails of terrorism in our daily life is not a regular thing in Tamil cinema. But Kamal Haasan, the man of experiments, has gathered the guts to remake Hindi hit ‘A Wednesday’ that speaks on the effects of extremism on men in streets.What if a common man becomes a threat to the government and its institution forms the core of the film. An individual’s anger against terrorism and the ineffectiveness of the institution to nip it is what the film boasts about.

Films carrying such themes tend to be preachy as the past suggest. But ‘Unnaipol Oruvan’, a whiff of fresh air in Tamil cinema, is a movie with a purpose. It is neither tacky nor artificial but a straight and simple one that scores.If watching Kamal Haasan performing a serious role is a delight, so it is to see a seasoned campaigner like Mohanlal sharing the screen with them. Both have done roles that demand not just an outburst of emotions in a subtle manner, but also immense involvement.

Kamal in his walk, body language and dialogue resembles the man living in your next door. Mohanlal should be appreciated for the maturity with which he had played the role. His emotional encounter with Kamal Haasan towards the climax is one among the many scenes that deserve applause.

The movie begins with a middle-aged man (Kamal Haasan) leaving bags at pivotal points in city. He takes up position at the top of a half-constructed building and opens his gizmos. Now begins his mission.He uses different sim cards in his mobile (obtained on fake names) and calls up the Police Commissioner Raghavan Maraar (Mohanlal) informing him that he has planted bombs that would explode before the evening.

Taking him serious after finding out that explosives were left in a police station itself by him, Raghavan comes for negotiation. The man on the phone demands the release of four dreaded militants (including three Islamic ultras and a Hindu involved in weapon sale) languishing in various prisons.Maraar entrusts the job to his trusted lieutenants who take them to Sholavaram aerodrome. In between, the caller alerts a television journalist Natasha Rajkumar (Anuja Iyer) and keeps track of the developments thanks to their news scroll on the channel.

Now an unexpected thing happens there. Our common man teaches terrorists a lesson and proves the government that an eye for an eye will usher justice. He tells that the agony and frustration of a common man can lead to a disaster.Director Chakri Toleti seems to have had an easy time, for the trump card was already in his hands in the form of ‘A Wednesday’. But the way in which he has visualized the script needs mention. Shruti’s musical score adds pep to the movie while Manoj Soni’s camera work is the eyes of the common man.

Produced by Raaj Kamal and UTV, ‘Unnaipol Oruvan’ is a film that deals on harsh realities the country faces today and suggests a harsher remedy for it.